10 SECRET Places You'll NEVER Visit

We all have a list of places we’re dying to go to, but have you considered that something on that list is completely unreachable? For this Top 10 installment, we’re scoping the world out and pulling ten amazing places that we’re sure you’d love to visit, but are probably unable to.

Lascaux Caves

This one is truly a shame considering the amount of valuable history that it’s home to. The Lascaux Caves in southwestern France were once inhabited by an ancient civilization some 18,000 years ago that left behind paintings of animals, symbols, and human figures. What was once a public place was closed off to visitors when specialists realized the presence of near 1,200 visitors per day was responsible for a change in the environment and the existence of fungi and lichen. Though you don’t have access to the caves themselves, the Lascaux II replica gives you a recreated glimpse of some of the finest art from Lascaux.

Bohemian Grove

This Californian campground boasts a yearly meeting of some of the world’s most powerful men for reasons that only the inner circle knows. These elites claim to be simply escaping common man to enjoy two weeks of uninterrupted time with themselves and nature, but conspiracy theorists believe there’s more to the club than such innocence. For instance, a meeting of the minds behind the Manhattan Project in September 1942 subsequently led to the creation of the atom bomb. Infiltrators of the extremely exclusive club with the 30-year-long wait list claim to have witnessed bizarre rituals such as the burning of a coffin effigy in front of a 40-foot-owl.

White’s Gentleman Club

An unfortunate name to have during an age of such racial sensitivity, but White’s Gentlemen Club is not exclusive to race. It is, however, extremely exclusive, a trait that it has carried through its multi-century existence. Founded in 1693, the club has hosted such royalty as Sir Charles Hanbury Williams, Lord Claud Hamilton, Archibald Grove, Randolph Churchill, Prince William, and the 8th Earl of Lucan, George Binham. It wasn’t always about exclusivity and elite debauchery, as White’s actually started off as a hot chocolate emporium, created by Italian immigrant Francesco Bianco.

Google Data Center at The Dalles

Imagine a building so ripe with information and data that any comic book super villain would likely target it. We imagine that’s what the original Google Data Center in The Dalles, Oregon is like, but we’ll never actually know. The $600 million center, which once went by the codename “Project 02” has been open since 2006 and the level of secrecy behind it has not changed. Much like the perimeter of places like Area 51, Google’s center of data is patrolled by guards and is under constant video surveillance. Tech wiz’s and information connoisseurs would surely pay money to see the golden hue of Google’s endless hallways of data – but they’ll just have to stick with what Google.com gives them.

Fort Knox

We’d love to make the obvious comparison as to how impossible it is to get into this bullion depository but, you know, saying “Fort Knox is as difficult to get into as, well, Fort Knox,” makes us sound a little slow. So we’ll just say this: It’s never going to happen. Not only is it closed to the public, Fort Knox has a line of impenetrable defenses, like 4-foot-thick granite walls, a 22-ton, blast-proof front door, a multi-focus surveillance system, and fire and bullet-proofed glass. Oh, and guards with guns – Thompson submachine guns, to be exact – and a very strong military presence within sight. According to wikipedia.org, Fort Knox currently holds 4.62% of all gold ever refined or enough to make a solid cube that’s 20.3 feet or 6.19 meters on each side – but let’s be real, it’s probably filled with a bunch of paper IOU’s.

Club 33

What would you say if you heard that Disneyland in Anaheim, California is home to an exclusive club that costs $12,000 a year to be a member of and comes with a $27,000 initiation fee? If you’re like us, you’d probably slink onto the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and try to hide your jealousy in the dank caves. Club 33 is not only the most exclusive club in Disneyland with an 800-plus-person waiting list, it’s also the only restaurant in the child-friendly mecca that serves alcohol. Why a theme park designed for kids needs an exclusive, adults-only club is a tinge confusing, but you know there’s some part of you that is oh-so-curious as to what that big-eared mouse is hiding behind closed doors. As of 2011, it is said that Club 33 has a 14-year waiting list just to register.

Poveglia, Italy

Even if public access to the island of Poveglia, Italy was granted, it would take brave souls to walk the grounds of the Italy’s most sinister island. The history of Poveglia is not a happy one, laden with death, misfortune, and a darkness that seems to have followed it throughout the centuries. A quarantined zone for those infected with a plague in the 18th century and a grotesquely ominous mental hospital in the 1920’s are Poveglia’s two big claims to fame, and some say they’ve both left a morbid mark on the island. While thrill seekers seek access, the Italian government has limited access to the island, though it’s worth noting that programs like Ghost Adventures and Scariest Places on Earth have featured the island.

Tomb of the Qin Shi Huang

Between 220 BC and 210 BC, Ying Zheng ruled as King of the state of Qin and had a significant role in the unification of China in 221 BC, leaving behind a massive legacy. Despite what that may mean to your own personal history, it’s a shame that you’ll never get to see the physical remnants it. The Tomb of the Qin Shi Huang was found within a hill in central China protected by an inviting moat of mercury when farmers unearthed a statue of a soldier in 1974. It should be easily excavated, right? Wrong! Archeologists are hesitant to do so in fear of losing any information or artifacts in the process. So, to put it lightly – they won’t soon be selling tickets for admission.

Chapel of the Ark of the Covenant

Axum, Ethiopia may not sound important, but you’d be sorely mistaken in thinking so. For the religious viewers, you may remember an exchange between two gents, God and Moses, on the Sinai Peninsula. It was here that God supposedly passed down his Ten Commandments to Moses, and it is within the Ark of the Covenant that it is thought those tablets currently reside. The Ark was said to have disappeared at one point, though theorists claim it’s simply enshrined in a chapel in Axum. While visitors can see the ornate chapel’s exterior, there are no public viewings of the Ark, leading some to wonder if that’s what really resides within the chapel.

Vatican Secret Archives

Unless you somehow climb the ranks of the Vatican order, we think it’s very safe to say this is one of those highly improbable tourist spots. One may wonder what’s hidden within the vaults of the Vatican that would need to be locked away, and the immediate answer is important historical documents. We’re talking documents from points in time that shouldn’t easily be forgotten, like the signed records from the trial of Galileo Galilei. It would be quite the amazing trek to stroll down the halls of countless events in history, and even more-so incredible should you happen to come across some secret room of exorcism files.